Though the markets seem to be groping for direction and hence lacklustre this week, the bulls continued to surge ahead—fifth week straight—on continuing post-budget rally. Strong index of industrial production (IIP) readings for January (at 16.7%) and continuous buying in information technology, TECk and banking stocks helped the cause. In the process, the Sensex and the Nifty crossed important levels of 17000 and 5100 respectively. The BSE benchmark added 172 points (1.01%) and the NSE bellwether 48 points (0.95%) to their kitty in the week.

On sector front, last week’s top counters were this week’s top losers. BSE Realty and BSE Metal that posted gains of 6.91% and 7.06% last week slid the most and posted losses of 1.64% and 2.09% respectively this week. This week’s toppers were information technology and banking counters, which were up by 2.10% and 1.39% respectively.

In the coming weeks, the market may focus on advance tax payment of India Inc, which will hint towards their fourth quarter earnings and the inflation reading for February (due on March 15, 2010). On the international front, the meeting of Eurozone and European Union’s finance ministers on March 15-16 to decide on Greece government’s plan to reduce the fiscal deficit among others will have an important bearing.

The key benchmark indices recovered from the day's lows and closed flat after moving between the positive and negative terrain throughout the day. Higher European stocks helped a late recovery on the domestic bourses. But the market ended off the day's high as strong industrial production data for January 2010 reinforced expectations of a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India. The Sensex and Nifty today struck their highest level in a month and a half. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 1.34 points or 0.01%, off close to 75 points from the day's high and up close to 40 points from the day's low.

IT, realty and banking stocks fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries pared early gains. Shares of FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever fell for the second day in a row. The market breadth was weak.

The market witnessed bouts of intraday volatility. Stocks pared gains soon after hitting 1-1/2 month highs at the onset of the trading session. The market regained strength in morning trade. The market once again trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. It further trimmed gains to in early afternoon trade after the industrial production data. The market moved between positive and negative zone in early afternoon trade. The market cut losses after hitting a fresh intraday low in afternoon trade. The market hit a fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The market regained positive zone in late trade.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said economic growth is not merely government expenditure driven and that he is confident of maintaining domestic savings rate at 36% of GDP in the year ending March 2011.

India will take gradual steps to full convertibility of the rupee but not in one go, Mukherjee told parliament earlier in the day. Fuller convertibility is expected to facilitate rapid growth through higher investment and improve efficiency in the financial sector through greater competition.

Industrial output rose a robust 16.7% in January 2010 from a year earlier, slightly stronger than market expectations, aided by stimulus measures that boosted domestic demand, data released by the government today showed. Manufacturing output jumped 17.9%. The government revised upwards industrial production growth for December 2009 to a record level of 17.6% from earlier 16.8%

Mukherjee said he hoped the growth momentum in industrial output would continue. India is well-set to go back to 8.5% growth in the next fiscal year, Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Friday. He also said he expects foreign fund inflows to continue to be good. India's economy could expand over 8.5% in the March quarter, the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said on Friday.

Food prices moderated slightly while fuel price inflation accelerated in late February adding pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates at its April policy review. The wholesale price inflation (WPI) was at 8.56% in January, just above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) end-March projection of 8.5%.

The food price index rose 17.81% in the 12 months to 27 February 2010, marginally lower than an annual rise of 17.87% in the previous week. The recent government decision to raise fuel prices has also stoked inflation. The fuel price index rose 11.38% in the 12 months to 27 February 2010, shooting up from an annual rise of 9.59% in the previous week.

A rate hike before the next scheduled policy review in April 2010 is, however, unlikely after RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn recently said it would be premature to take any mid-term policy action. Market men see a 25 basis points hike in the repo and reverse repo rate each by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at the April-2010 policy review. Higher interest rates may impact corporate and consumer confidence.

Meanwhile, policymakers including the deputy chairman of the planning commission have said earlier this week that food prices will moderate over the next few months. Basu said on Friday said the government needs to improve its food grain management system and modify the way it releases grain stocks

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday pledged to develop banking ties with India to boost co-operation between the two countries. Putin on Friday met President Pratibha Patil as he began his New Delhi visit with eye on boosting strategic and defense ties with India.

Coming back to stocks, equities have witnessed a good post-Budget rally driven by sustained buying by foreign funds since the presentation of the Union Budget 2010-2011 on 26 February 2010. As per data from the stock exchanges, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought stocks worth a net Rs 7815.98 crore this month, till 11 March 2010.

The stock market has applauded the Union Budget 2010-2011 due to its thrust on infrastructure development, government's pledge to reduce fiscal deficit over the next three years, a smaller-than-expected 2% hike in excise duties, and reduction in taxes for individuals which will boost disposable income. The Finance Minister has assumed a modest GDP of about 8% and inflation of about 4.5% for 2010-2011.

Investors will eye figures of advance tax payment by top Indian firms which will give an indication of fourth quarter March 2010 earnings. The fourth and the last installment of advance tax is due on 15 March 2010.

Going ahead, the key triggers for the stock market are structural reforms such as decontrol of petrol and diesel prices, targeting of food subsidies, and financial sector reforms such as increase in foreign direct investment in insurance sector.

Meanwhile, the follow-on public offer (FPO) of iron ore miner NMDC was fully bid. The issue closes today, 12 March 2010. The government is divesting 8.38% stake in NMDC through the FPO as a part of its aggressive divestment drive to raise funds in a bid to bring fiscal deficit down. The price band has been fixed between Rs 300 and 350.

The latest data from global fund tracker EPFR Global showed that inflows into Asia ex-Japan equity funds reached their highest level since November 2009 in the week ended 10 March 2010. China stock funds attracted $31 million in the week ended 10 March 2010, taking in funds for only the second week this year.

European shares rose on Friday, reversing falls from the previous session, with banks higher after talks on banking reform in the United States collapsed. The key benchmark indices in France, UK and Germany rose by between 0.31% to 0.64%.

Most Asian stock markets edged lower on Friday with investors worried about inflationary pressures in China. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan fell by between 0.02% to 1.24%. The key benchmark indices in Japan, Singapore and South Korea rose by between 0.26% to 0.81%.

Investors are wary China may start raising interest rates to keep a lid on mounting inflationary pressures. The data released Thursday showed that China's inflation rate jumped to 2.7% in February from 1.5% in January

Meanwhile, Japan's industrial output rose 2.7% in January, revised data showed on Friday, boosted by a sharp rise in production of cars and chemical products. The figure compared with an initial reading of a 2.5% rise and a 1.9% increase in December 2009, the trade ministry said.

Global investors are awaiting further insight into the state of the US economic recovery on Friday, 12 March 2010 when data on US retail sales and consumer sentiment figures will be out. The numbers are expected to indicate how big an appetite Americans have for spending.

US index futures reversed early losses. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 22 points at the opening bell on Friday, 12 March, 2010

On Wall Street on Thursday, 11 March 2010, stocks were confined to a narrow trading range for most of the session, but a late bounce in financials pushed the S&P 500 to a 17-month high above the 1,150 mark. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 44.51 points or 0.4%, to 10,611.84. The S&P 500 index rose 4.63, or 0.4% to 1,150.24. It now stands at its highest level since 1 October 2008. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 9.51 points or 0.4% at 2,368.46.

Initial jobless claims in the US fell 6,000 last week to 462,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims totaled 4.56 million, which was greater than what was expected. The trade gap shrank 6.6% as oil imports dropped to their lowest level since February 1999. The trade balance for January came in with a 37.3 billion dollars deficit. In other data, and mortgage rates dropped for a second straight week, remaining below 5%.

The chances of a broad overhaul of US financial regulation dimmed on Thursday after bipartisan Senate talks collapsed, jeopardizing a top Obama administration priority

The Greek economy is set to shrink by more than expected this year, the government said on Wednesday, as it braced for nationwide strikes protesting its plans for bringing the country's budget deficit under control.

Close home, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 1.34 points or 0.01% to 17,166.52. The barometer index jumped 76.58 points at the day's high of 17,244.54 at the onset of the trading session, which is its highest level since 21 January 2010. The Sensex fell 41.03 points at the day's low of 17,126.93 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 3.60 points or 0.07% to 5137. It hit a high of 5158.10 earlier in the day which is its highest level since 21 January 2010.

The market breadth turned weak. The breadth was strong at the onset of the trading session. On BSE, 1028 shares advanced as compared with 1809 that declined. A total of 91 shares remained unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.46% to Rs 1021.25, extending last two days' gains. But the stock was off the day's high of Rs 1032.60. As per reports, RIL is close to striking hydrocarbon at its Palar deepwater block in the Cauvery basin. In the Palar block, RIL is said to be testing a well. The hydrocarbon success would be known only after testing is completed.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was flat paring early gains triggered by reports Russia is considering inviting the state-run company to develop oil and gas fields in country.

But, India's largest software services exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 0.65%, with the stock gaining for the straight third day. Girja Pande, TCS's Asia-Pacific chairman reportedly indicated that the company hopes to quadruple its market share in Asia outside India within five to seven years.

India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India (SBI) was flat. State Bank of India (SBI) chairman OP Bhatt said the bank is looking at tapping the retail bond market next year with a 10-year issue, although the initial issue size may be as small as Rs 50-100 crore. Meanwhile, a bill seeking to reduce Centre's shareholding in the SBI from 55% now to 51% and to allow the bank to raise more capital from the market through preference shares, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The amendment bill seeks to provide for enhancement of the capital of SBI by issue of preference shares, to enable it to raise resources from the market by public issue or preferential allotment or private placement. The bill also aims to provide for flexibility in the management of the bank

Realty shares reversed early gains as the Budget proposed to impose service tax on the realty sector both on commercial rentals as well as on sale of under-construction housing units. The service tax would come to be about 3.5% of the cost of the apartment that includes the value of the land and also the cost of construction, realty body Credai said recently. Unitech, Indiabulls Real Estate, DLF, Phoenix Mills, HDIL City fell by between 0.27% to 1.36%.

Realty major DLF recently hinted that properties would turn dearer as developers would have to pass on the service tax burden to end-users.

Infrastructure stocks fell on profit taking after recent gains triggered by the government's thrust on the infrastructure sector in the latest Budget. The Finance Minister provided Rs 1.73 lakh crore for infrastructure development in 2010-2011, which accounts for over 46% of the total plan expenditure for the year. Gammon India, Valecha Engineering, Jaiprakash Associates, Valecha Engineering, Nagarjuna Construction Company, Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Heavy Electricals fell by between 0.33% to 1.85%.

But India's second largest mobile services provider by sales Reliance Communications fell 2.05%.

Auto stocks were mixed. India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors fell 1.22% reversing early gains. The stock had lost 3.24% on Tuesday after Germany's Daimler AG offloaded its entire stake in Tata Motors in bulk deals. Daimler AG sold its entire about 2.56 crore shares at an average price of Rs 751.67 in Tata Motors through various bulk deals on Tuesday, 9 March 2010.

India's largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.14%. Mahindra & Mahindra is reportedly in talks with the Sonalika group to pick up a stake in the unlisted firm's unit which makes sports utility vehicles.

India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.18%, falling for the third straight day triggered by fears of rise in competition after rival firm Ford on Tuesday entered the small car market with 'Figo'. Maruti Suzuki India, on Thursday said that Japanese auto giant Nissan has placed orders for 35,000 units of its small car A- Star for 2010-11 to sell it in the European market. Nissan sources the A-Star from Maruti's Manesar facility and sells it in the European market as 'Pixo'.

India's largest bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors rose 0.39% reversing early fall. Hero Honda has shortlisted Karnataka as one of the states for setting up its fourth manufacturing plant. Hero Honda Motors has reportedly proposed an investment of Rs 2,000 crore for the upcoming plant.

Consumer durables stocks fell on profit taking after recent gains triggered on hopes rise in disposable income following widening of tax slabs in the Union Budget 2010-11 may boost sales. Titan Industries, Asian Star Company, Videocon Industries and Rajesh Exports rose by between 0.29% to 2.23%.

India's largest drug maker by sales Ranbaxy Laboratories rose 0.66% after the company said on Friday it is planning to achieve $3 billion in consolidated turnover by 2012 as part of its medium-term business plan. Among other healthcare stocks, Pfizer, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Novartis India rose by between 0.3% to 5.52%.

European shares ended lower on Thursday, March 11, 2010 after China reported a jump in inflation and also on a dull US economic data, which failed to impress the investors.

On Thursday, the US markets closed higher for the third consecutive day as banking shares gained the most.

In today's trade, Asian indices are trading flat. At the time of writing this report, SGX Nifty trades 10.50 points lower.

Indian markets

The markets are likely to open firm owing to the mixed global cues. As the markets remained lackluster for the three straight sessions, all the investors will be focused on the Industrial Production Data (IIP) scheduled later today, which will set the trend of the markets.

Commodity cues

In the commodity space, the Crude oil prices posted gains after the three day losses, with the Nymex light crude oil for the April series up by $0.06 per barrel, whereas in the metals space, the Comex Gold for the April series remained unchanged and the Comex Silver for the May series was up by $0.15 to a troy ounce respectively.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities

On March 11, 2010, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were the net buyers of the Indian stocks to the tune of Rs418.20 crore, whereas the domestic mutual funds, on March 09, 2010, were also the net buyers of the stocks to the tune of Rs26.70 crore.

Traders with short-term trading perspective can buy the stock of Bombay Rayon Fashions. Since August 2009, the stock has been on a broad sideways consolidation in the range of Rs 180 and Rs 220. Though the stock tested the upper boundary in January and February, however, it failed to breakthrough. The stock is trading well above its 21 and 50-day moving averages and is re-testing the upper boundary.

There has been an increase in volume over the past three trading sessions. The daily relative strength index has entered in to the bullish zone and weekly RSI is on the verge of entering this zone. Both the daily and weekly moving average convergence and divergence indicators are featuring in the positive territory and the daily MACD has signalled a buy. Moreover, within this consolidation, the stock has been on a medium-term uptrend since December 2009. Considering that the medium-term up trendline is in tact we are bullish on the stock from short-term perspective.

We expect the stock to penetrate the upper boundary and rally until it hits our price target of Rs 245. Traders can consider buying the stock while maintaining stop-loss at Rs 211.

Crude prices ended little higher on Thursday, 11 March 2010. Prices managed to close above $82. Prices rose following China's economic data. Prices also rose as crude supplies rose less than expected for last week and due to anticipation of higher demand in the coming months.

On Thursday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for April delivery closed at $82.11/barrel (higher by $0.02 or 0.01%). Prices fell to a low of $81.26 during intra day trading. Prices gained 2% last week.

Crude prices rose 9.3% in February as supply-and-demand issues began to take hold in a market for months dominated by moves in the dollar. Prices have ranged between $69 and $84 a barrel since October. Crude has risen 72.7% in last one year.

Commodities came under pressure today after a report from China showed sharper-than-expected increases in consumer and producer prices. That rekindled concern about tighter monetary policy in the country, which many have looked to as a leader in the global economic rebound. China reported that its inflation rate rose to 2.7% in February from 1.5% the prior month.

In the latest weekly inventory report, the EIA reported yesterday that crude-oil supplies were up 1.4 million barrels in the week ended 5 March as against an expected figure of 2.1 million barrels. The EIA also reported a drop of 2.9 million barrels in gasoline stocks and a drop of 2.2 million barrels in supplies of distillates, which include heating oil.

In the latest report, OPEC reported yesterday that it now expects world oil demand to grow by 900,000 barrels a day in 2010. This represents an upward revision of 100,000 barrels a day from the previous assessment.

In the currency market on Thursday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by more than 0.2%.

Earlier during the week, in the latest monthly report, the EIA had reported that it now expects oil consumption growth of 1.5 million barrels a day this year, up from 1.2 million barrels a day in last month's outlook. As per the report, with that demand, oil prices should stabilize above $80 a barrel. The report also detailed that with this, price of crude oil is to average above $80 a barrel this spring, then rise to about $82 a barrel by the end of the year. Crude should climb to $85 a barrel by the end of 2011.

Among other energy products on Thursday, heating oil for April rose 0.4 cents to $2.12 a gallon, while gasoline for the same month fell 1.5 cents to $2.27 a gallon.

Also on Thursday, natural gas for April delivery ended down 11.9 cents, or 2.6%, at $4.44 per million British thermal units in electronic trade. It earlier rose as high as $4.59 per million Btus.

Crude ended FY 2009 higher by 78%, the highest yearly gain since 1999. It reached a high of $82 earlier in October 2009 and hit a low of $33.98 on 12 February 2009. Oil prices had reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 45% since then. Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex

The market may open flat to marginally higher on mixed Asian stocks. US stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday, 11 March 2010. Closer home, the January industrial output data is due today which is expected to rise more than 16.5%. Industrial output data rose 16.8% in December 2010 over a year earlier.

Food prices moderated slightly while fuel price inflation accelerated in late February adding pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise rates at its April policy review. The wholesale price inflation (WPI) is already at 8.56% in January, just above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) end-March projection of 8.5%.

The food price index rose 17.81% in the 12 months to 27 February 2010, marginally lower than an annual rise of 17.87% in the previous week. The recent government decision to raise fuel prices has also stoked inflation. The fuel price index rose 11.38% in the 12 months to 27 February 2010, shooting up from an annual rise of 9.59% in the previous week.

Market expectations of a rate hike remain unchanged as traders expect the RBI's next move will be to raise its benchmark lending and borrowing rates by at least 25 bps each to 5% and 3.5% respectively.

The policymakers including the deputy chairman of the planning commission have said earlier this week that food prices will moderate over the next few months. Food prices have moderated only marginally this week, but with fuel prices on the rise, these are now spilling over to the broader economy. This is reflected in the fact that manufacturing price inflation picked up to 6.55% in January from 5% in December. Food prices are making the ruling coalition vulnerable to political attacks.

Sustained buying by foreign funds since the presentation of the Union Budget 2010-2011 on 26 February 2010 has lifted investor sentiment. As per data from the stock exchanges, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought stocks worth a net Rs 7511.10 crore this month, till 10 March 2010. The Sensex has garnered 913.76 points or 5.6% since the presentation of the Budget on 26 February 2010.

The stock market has applauded the Union Budget 2010-2011 due to its thrust on infrastructure development, government's pledge to reduce fiscal deficit over the next three years, a smaller-than-expected 2% hike in excise duties, and reduction in taxes for individuals which will boost disposable income. The Finance Minister has assumed a modest GDP of about 8% and inflation of about 4.5% for 2010-2011.

Going ahead, the key triggers for the stock market are structural reforms such as decontrol of petrol and diesel prices, targeting of food subsidies, and financial sector reforms such as increase in foreign direct investment in insurance sector.

The fourth and the last installment of advance tax by India Inc due on 15 March 2010 will give a broad indication of fourth quarter earnings.

Meanwhile, the follow-on public offer (FPO) of iron ore miner NMDC received tepid response. The issue was subscribed 79% by on the second day of the issue on Thursday. The FPO ends today, 12 March 2010. The government is divesting 8.38% stake in NMDC through the FPO as a part of its aggressive divestment drive to raise funds in a bid to bring fiscal deficit down. The price band has been fixed between Rs 300 and 350.

Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday after the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a 17-month high with investors worried about inflationary pressures in China. The key benchmark indices in Japan, Singapore and South Korea rose by between 0.08% to 0.41%. But the key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan fell by between 0.02% to 0.24%.

Investors are wary China may start raising interest rates to keep a lid on mounting inflationary pressures. The data released Thursday showed that China's inflation rate jumped to 2.7% in February over a year earlier from 1.5% in January

The investors are awaiting further insight into the state of the U.S. economic recovery, which they hoped to receive from reports Friday on U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment figures. The numbers are expected to indicate how big an appetite Americans have for spending.

On Wall Street on Thursday, 11 March 2010, stocks were confined to a narrow trading range for most of the session, but a late bounce in financials pushed the S&P to a 17-month high above the 1,150 mark. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 44.51 points or 0.4%, to 10,611.84. The S&P 500 index rose 4.63, or 0.4% to 1,150.24. It now stands at its highest level since 1 October 2008. Nasdaq shut 10 points up at 2,368.

On to the economy - initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week to 462,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims totaled 4.56 million, which was greater than what was expected. The trade gap shrank 6.6% as oil imports dropped to their lowest level since February 1999. The trade balance for January came in with a 37.3 billion dollars deficit. In other data, and mortgage rates dropped for a second straight week, remaining below 5%.

The chances of a broad overhaul of U.S. financial regulation dimmed on Thursday after bipartisan Senate talks collapsed, jeopardizing a top Obama administration priority

The Greek economy is set to shrink by more than expected this year, the government said on Wednesday, as it braced for nationwide strikes protesting its plans for bringing the country's budget deficit under control.

Closer home, the key benchmarks settled at their highest level in a month and a half on Thursday, 11 March 2010 as sustained buying by foreign funds since the presentation of the Budget late last month underpinned sentiment. The BSE 30-share Sensex rose 69.63 points or 0.41% to 17,167.96, its best close since 20 January 2010.

US stocks Thursday helped the market extend its grind higher to a third day. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.51 points, or 0.42%, to 10,611.84. It is down 1.1% from its recent high in Jan. 19.

European stocks declined from a seven-week high as U.S. jobless claims fell less than forecast and basic-resource producers retreated on speculation rising inflation will prompt China to pare back stimulus measures. UK`s benchmark index FTSE 100 declined 23.31 points, or 0.41%, to end at 5,617.26.

Oil prices stayed put, just above USD 82 on Thursday, as investors mulled demand uncertainties and a government report that showed the country`s huge natural gas reserves shrank a little last week. Benchmark crude for April delivery rose 2 cents to settle at USD 82.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In the spot market, the Dollar Index dropped 0.016% to 80.31. It touched a high of 80.33 and a low of 80.25 after opening at 80.28. (21:27 ET)

Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.

There is no great feeling in the market as we stare at another soft opening. The global markets appear inconclusive. US stock benchmarks posted moderate gains while Europe was subdued. Asian markets are trading mixed. Looks like investors are on a ‘wait-n-watch’ mode and appear to be reluctant in taking major bets immediately. The Nifty is expected to remain stuck in the 5100-5150 range and the next hurdle is near the 5200. Fresh selling could take it as low as 5030-5050. Inflation numbers showed a spike in fuel price. A possible trigger later in the day would be the IIP numbers.

Meanwhile, India Inc’s global conquest continues unabated – yet another sign of revived confidence following the financial turbulence. The economy is in good shape, if not great. The Government is aiming for the top slot in a few years. This may sound a little ambitious but not unachievable. Much will depend on how the policy landscape unfolds besides of course the state of the world economy. Among the other major headwinds include inflation and its implication on monetary policy. But, fund flows should remain healthy given the strong medium-to long-term growth prospects for India.

FIIs were net buyers in the cash segment on Thursday at Rs3.05bn on a provisional basis. Local funds were net sellers of Rs2.02bn, according to figures published on the NSE's web site. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers of Rs9.70bn. On Tuesday, FIIs were net buyers of Rs17.7bn in the cash segment. On Wednesday, FIIs were net buyers of Rs4.18bn in the cash segment, as per SEBI figures.

US stocks gained traction late on Thursday, ending higher for a third straight session, after Citigroup said that it is on its way to sustainable profitability. An apparent lack of progress on the financial regulatory front prompted investors to get more optimistic on financials.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended at 18-month highs as investors eyed the day's jobs and trade news and the direction of the US dollar.

US light crude oil for April delivery rose 2 cents to settle at $82.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for April delivery rose $0.10 to settle at $1,108.20 per ounce.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.74% from 3.72% late on Wednesday.

Market breadth was positive.

Stocks seesawed through most of the session as investors turned cautious after the recent advance and showed concerns about a spike in China's inflation last month. But the weakness gave out by the close and markets ended with slim gains.

Stock index futures and commodities were down after China reported its inflation rate rose to 2.7% in February from 1.5% the prior month.

US stocks have been on an upswing lately, posting gains over the last month. As of Thursday's close, the Dow has risen in eight of the last 10 sessions and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have risen in nine of the last 10 sessions.

Further stock gains will be determined by earnings and revenue growth and the transition between a government stimulus-driven economy and one driven by fundamentals.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said he would offer his own overhaul of financial regulation after failing to get bipartisan agreement.

Today's jobs report was a little disappointing. The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 462,000 from a revised 468,000 the previous week. Economists thought it would fall to 460,000.

Continuing claims, a measure of Americans who have been receiving unemployment checks for a week or more, rose to 4,558,000, up 37,000 from the previous week's reading of 4,521,000. Economists expected 4,500,000 claims.

The January trade gap narrowed to $37.3 billion from a revised reading of $39.9 billion. The deficit was expected to widen to $41 billion, according to forecasts.

Another report showed that foreclosure rates rose 6% in February from a year earlier, but fell 2% from the previous month.

In corporate news, BP said it will pay Devon Energy $7 billion for exploration rights in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caspian sea.

Regional banks extended gains after reports that Britain's Barclays was on the prowl for a U.S. retail bank acquisition.

In European markets, German automakers Volkswagen and BMW closed higher while miners lost ground in a broadly weak session. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.3% at 257.55. On Wednesday, the index advanced to a level not seen since Jan. 19, after gaining for seven out of nine sessions.

Greek shares were also underperforming, with the ASE Composite Index down 0.7% at 2,124.58 as workers staged their third general strike in protest at government austerity measures.

Germany's DAX index lost 0.1% to 5,928.63, the U.K. FTSE 100 index declined 0.4% to 5,617.26 and the French CAC-40 shed 0.4% to 3,928.95.

Buying towards the fag end lifted the otherwise lackluster benchmark indices to shut with modest gains. The index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Infosys led from the front.

However, the breadth on the BSE Sensex was negative for second day, out of the total 2918 stocks, 1774 declined as against 1065 advances and 79 remained unchanged. Among the 30-components of Sensex, 15 stocks ended in the negative and 15 ended in the green.

The BSE Sensex advanced 70 points to end at 17,168 after touching a high of 17,215 and a low of 17,054. The NSE Nifty gained 17 points to end at 5,133.

Investors seem to be upbeat on the Initial public offerings rather than the FPOs as scintillating debut for IPOs continue. The most recent ones namely Texmo pipes, Jubilant Foodworks, Infinite Solutions and Cox & Kings were among the major outperformers.

Man Infraconstruction, which turned out to be the most successful IPO so far this year, debuted with dazzling gains on the Indian bourses today. The stock shot up to Rs348 as against its issue price of Rs252 per share translating in to premium of 38%. The IPO was subscribed 62.33 times. The issue received total bids for over 290mn shares against 465.3mn shares on offer at the end of the IPO. It generated a demand for ~Rs73.08bn worth of shares instead of the Rs1.42bn.

Among the 30-components of Sensex, 15 stocks ended in the negative and 15 ended in the green.

In Europe, stocks were in negative terrain. The DAX in Germany, the CAC 40 index in France and the FTSE in the UK all were flat. Coming back to India, among the BSE sectoral indices, the IT index was the top gainer, adding 1%, followed by the Teck index that was up 1% and the BSE Bank index was up 0.7%.

Among the losers were BSE Auto index down 1% and BSE FMCG index down 0.8%. Even, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.2% and BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.2%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were Shriram Transport, Sintex Ind, Exide Ind and Jain Irrigation. On the other hand, losers included NMDC, Hindustan Copper, India Cements and Gujarat NRE Coke.

Shares of Thermax have further advanced by 1.5% to end at Rs683 after the company yesterday announced that it has formed a strategic joint venture with Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W PGG), to engineer, manufacture and supply supercritical boilers for the Indian power sector. The Joint venture will also manufacture subcritical boilers over 300 megawatts (MW) in size. The agreement was signed by M S Unnikrishnan, Managing Director and CEO, Thermax, and Richard L. Killion, President and Chief Operating Officer, B&W PGG.

Crompton Greaves won order worth Rs3.02bn to construct a substation in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The contract was signed on March 5, the company said. The stock ended lower by 1% to Rs242. The scrip opened at Rs244 it touched an intra-day high of Rs246 and a low of Rs240 and recorded volumes of over 0.23mn shares on BSE.

AstraZeneca plc announced a license and supply agreement with Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. As per the deal, AstraZeneca would initially buy from Torrent the licenses and market authorizations for 18 products in 9 countries and the agreement allows the flexibility to add further products and new countries where AstraZeneca sees opportunities for growth.

Shares of Torrent Pharma gained by 3% to end at Rs490. The scrip opened at Rs476 it touched an intra-day high of Rs501 and a low of Rs476 and recorded volumes of over 81,000 shares on BSE.

Areva T&D won Rs4bn contract in India by state utility Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corpo- AREVA ration Ltd (UPPTCL). AREVA will build a 765 kV Extra High-Voltage (EHV) substation at the Anpara "D" thermal power plant1 in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The stock gained 2% to Rs279. It opened at Rs275 it touched an intra-day high of Rs281 and a low of Rs273 and has recorded volumes of over 0.21mn shares on BSE.

Fortis Healthcare hit news 52-week high to end at 178 advancing 5% after the company announced that through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 23.9% strategic stake in one of the Asia's largest healthcare service provider, Parkway Holdings Ltd. from TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group) in an off market deal.

McNally Bharat received an order worth Rs243.8mn for Design, Engineering, Supply of Equipment, Civil Work, Structural Work, Erection & Commissioning of flood lighting along Indo- Bangladesh Border in the State of Tripura (Package Nos. Panifl- IV, Gokulfl- I, Gokulfl- II & Gokulfl IV) for national projects construction corporation ltd. The contractual period of completion is within 11 months.

The stock ended higher by 1.5% to end at Rs280. The scrip opened at Rs270 it touched an intra-day high of Rs284 and a low of Rs270 and recorded volumes of over 0.14mn shares on BSE.

Prices register marginal rise after Chile is hit with aftershock of last quake

Precious metal prices ended little higher on Thursday, 11 March, 2010. Prices rose after Chile was rocked by an aftershock, which followed the major earthquake that hit the country a fortnight back. Prices also increased following China's economic data.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.

On Thursday, gold for April delivery ended at $1,108.2 an ounce, higher by $0.1 (0.01%) an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, gold gained 1.4%. In FY 2010, gold touched a high of $1,154 in January.

On Thursday, May Comex silver futures ended higher by 14.2 cents (0.8%) at $17.15 an ounce. Last week, silver ended higher by almost 8%.

Gains were limited today, after Chile's mining-giant Codelco, the largest producer of copper in the world, said it found no damage to its Andina and El Teniente operations. Both locations were temporarily shut down after the February quake.

Gold and other metals also advanced after a report from China showed sharper-than-expected increases in consumer and producer prices. That rekindled concern about tighter monetary policy in the country, which many have looked to as a leader in the global economic rebound. China reported that its inflation rate rose to 2.7% in February from 1.5% the prior month.

In the currency market on Thursday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by more than 0.2%.

Gold had ended FY 2009 higher by 24%. Silver futures had ended 2009 up 50%. The dollar index had lost 4.2% against its counterparts last year.